Lichfield squash players join global bid for Olympic recognition

Squash players in Lichfield are backing a campaign to get the sport included in the 2020 Olympic Games.

The World Squash Day event will see players across the world taking part in matches in a bid to raise the profile of the sport.

The opposing captains for the Lichfield World Squash Day event

And Lichfield Squash Club will join other clubs by fielding two teams of 20 players to take each other on in the October 20 event. The scores from every participating club will count towards an overall global result between Team Squash and Team 2020.

Andrew Shelley, chief executive of the World Squash Federation, said: “There are over 50,000 courts spread across the world and to give the players on all of them the chance to compete in the same championship will bring the world of squash together in such a unique way.”

The Lichfield Squash Club 2020 Challenge match will take place at King Edward VI Leisure Centre, starting at 2pm. The event is completely free to enter as all court fees will be covered by club sponsors Dealmakers Monthly. In addition, players will each be provided with an event/team t-shirt, which will be provided free of charge by squash kit, events and coaching specialists, Orangesquash.

Players interested in taking part in one of the teams should either register online on the club’s website at www.lichfieldsquash.co.uk, put their name down on the list that has been posted onto the squash courts noticeboard at King Edward VI or Friary Grange Leisure Centres, or drop an email to james@lichfieldsquash.co.uk.

In addition to the 2020 Challenge Match, the club will also be staging a coaching clinics featuring current women’s world number 42, Sarah-Jane Perry. The first of these sessions, which will start at 1pm, will be for juniors interested in playing squash for the first time and will cover the basics of the game. The second will be for adult beginners and improvers and will start at 2pm.